Belmont chronicle. [volume] (St. Clairsville, Ohio) 1855-1973, 1887-07-21
ALL SORTS OF RELICS.
BRIC-A-BRAC MANUFACTURED TO
SUIT COLLECTORS DEMANDS.

The Ease with Which Buyers Are De
ceived by Appearances-Practica PeO.
pie who Are Not Good Subjects for
the Dealer-OId Clocks.
Two young women stood in front of what
appeared TO be an elegant bronze statue in q
bric-a-brac store in Broadway. The statue
represented horse crouching ready TO spring
and half nude rider cliHging to his back
The admiration of the young women was
bOundless, and they exhausted all the super
latives in giving expression to it One of
them could not help patting the horses side,
although the sign Hands Off was hanging
from his back. She wanted to touch some
thing that had come from the workshop of
one of the old masters. Had she carefully
examined the horses hind hoof reasonable
doubt would have been raised as TO whether
the statue was the work of an ancient expert
There was piece Clipped off the hoof, and
although it was small, fiber or grain could
be seen in the material The beautiful figure
was not bronze. II was only papier mache
and was made in this city.
~While it is not becoming in me" said the
proprietor of the store, after the women had
gone out, ITO talk about my customers, yet
can't help it sometimes. Why, | have tG.
laugh in peoples faces frequently when l sac
how easily they are deceived by appesr-
ances. They make up their minds that
things are genuine because they look So
This is why bric-a-brac buyers are so easily
gulled. If they are pleased, that is enough,
and they will pay four or five prices for
something that suits their fancy. All the
customers are not inclined that way, how
ever had an old woman in here this morn
ing to whom | gave some facts and figures
about an old Venetian mirror. She drank in
my long story with wondering eyes and then
offered So for the glass.
SOME PRACTICAL PEOPLE.
"There are some practical people who do
not place any value upon age and association.
They are not fit subjects for the bric-a-brac
dealer The business is not what it used to
be, and unless you have something really fine
it is hard to get good price. Overproduc-
ton has f1attened the trade For every gen.
uine relic of the olden time, there are 100 imi-
tations. Bric-a-brac from China and Japan
was the rage, and the importations were
heavy until about year ago. Then the fac
tories in Birmingham and other places
turned the goods out so rapidly that China
and Japan were overstocked. There was a
big run on japanese bronzes They were
supposed to be hammered in Japan, but were
really stamped by machinery in England.
Americans like to be humbugged, and the
largest part of the stuff is sent here.
"Here is a case of swords, repre- senting the
style of every country-foils, daggers, and
Toledo blades. They are all supposed to be
ancient but are made in Sheffield. The world
is full of Damascus blades made in that enter
prising town. Here is a real Damascus blade.
1t will cut without sign of injury metal that
would turn the edge of the Sheffield imita-
tions There is little demand for old armor
and weapons now.
BOGUS IVORY AND EBONY.
"The deception practiced in ivory goods
would make one believe that there was no
honesty. Beautiful. ivory carvings, that are
said to have been picked zp in the ruins of an
ancient city, are nodded from mixture of
bone dust and gum, which takes on a high
polish. Acids put on the stain of age. A
mother of pearl is made from celuloid that
would deceive an expert, but it becomes brit
tie and breaks easily. Here is an elegant
piece of cabinet work. See how fine the lines
are. Yet it is an imitation made Of wood and
glue pressed into molds which are cut so well
that the fine lines of genuine carving are
brought out clearly. / have seen this pressed
work so fine that even experts have pro-
nounced it real.
Genuine ebony is highly priced, and there
is a good demand for it. What is the use of
trying 10 find it when an excellent imitation
is made from beechwood? The wood is first
dried, then boiled in nitrate of iron and
soaked in lOgwood. The weight and shade
are almost perfect. Old clocks that have
moon faces and solve a variety of astronomi-
cal problems, and are supposed to have told
the time in some ancient manor, stand III
many Railways today and seem to tell the
story of other days. They are nearly all
made in tiis city and are hardly old enough
to tick. When there was a rage for mummy
cases, decorated in the fashion and colors of
the time when Egypt was power among the
nations, more than enough to supply the de
mand were made in this wicked town In
fact, everything that is worth having in brio
a-brac is made here, and made ell."-New
York Tribune.